You woke up to Katie, coming to cuddle up with you. You smiled, your eyes opening because you knew you probably wouldn't be able to sleep again for a while.
Katie didn't look tired as she laid there next to you. Instead, she looked more... scared. You looked closer to see that she probably had tears in her eyes.
"Katie--"
You felt something on your arm. A tear.
"They're saying they want to take you away." Katie sniffled, "They're telling and fighting," a harsh, stuttered breath, "A-and they think you're evil!" she cried, curling into you more, "But you're not evil! You're the bestest most kindest person ever!" She sniffed, "Even Maverik and Choe like you!" she whimpered.
Katie's small hands clung to your t-shirt as her hot tears soaked the sheets under your arms. You squeezed her a bit, tears forming in your eyes as well. They wouldn't fall, but they wanted to.
"Katie," you sniffed, "Sometimes, nice people do bad things." You sniffed yourself, wondering if this is how your past would finally catch up to you... how it would finally win.
"And, for a lot of people, it's hard to look past the bad things to see the person. A lot of people think that if you do bad things, you are a bad person--"
"But Ironman isn't like that!" Katie wailed, "He's a superhero! He should know better!"
You chuckled and sniffed, "And I'm sure he does, Katie. I'm almost positive he's on my side in this argument." You smiled, "But Steve and Sam aren't quite like that when it comes to me. I've done a lot of bad things, and they don't think they were against my wanting to, so they..." another sniff as your smile thinned, "They don't trust me as much." You sniffed again, hoping this would somehow make her feel better.
"And it's not that they want me to be taken away..." you took a deep breath, "they just... they want you guys to be safe. They think I'm going to do more bad things, and more bad choices." You shrugged, "And it's not true, but they also don't mean me any harm. They just want to keep you guys safe. They're looking out for you." You forced a smile and she looked at you.
"Does that make sense, love?" you sniffed, hoping she wouldn't see how hurt you'd been by the news.
Katie nodded, sniffing and wiping her nose. "Yeah, that makes sense."
A genuine smile appeared on your face. "Good." You took a small breath, "Now how about we go get you some ice cream? You look like you could use some chocolate and vanilla." You offered, your nerves calming ever so slightly when you saw the happier look on her face.
She wasn't happy, but she also wasn't scared, or feeling as helpless anymore.
....
When you went downstairs, you grit your teeth, frowned, immediately picked Katie up, and turned around.
The kitchen, while mostly untouched, was right next to an argument that was only unheard from your room due to your room's soundproofing. Other than that, their arguing was so loud a Carl Fredrickson would've gone completely deaf if he'd heard it.
Katie had started to freak out again when she saw the look on your face, so you smiled a little and gave her a look that said it'll be okay.
"Hey, chin up KitKat, this'll be over in a jiff." You beamed, rage flowing through your veins.
There was no doubt in your mind that the fighting was causing Micheal and Maverik to have flashbacks, Scarllet was probably having panic attacks, if not anxiety attacks, and Malissa was probably trying to console her.
Then there was Chloe, who, no doubt, blamed herself for this.
You stopped by all of their rooms, saying nothing as you nodded for them to follow you. One by one, you took all the breaking kids to your room, where they didn't have to listen to the fight, and could listen to whatever music they wanted to instead.
Then, a small trip later, you had some chips, salsa, ice cream, etc. for them too.
"I shouldn't be too long," You told them with a smile, "but if I am, there's no need to worry, I'll be fine."
With that, you turned and closed the door behind you. Your smile fell, and there was a new feeling of anger in you.
You only hoped it wouldn't get the best of you.